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[[Justice, Innocence : Louis' Heart : Bridge]]

Innocence returned Dawn's hug, despite not knowing just why he was being hugged. Saving her? Why was she thanking him for it? Wasn't that the natural thing to do? Innocence didn't understand, not that he cared much, he was just happy to get hugs.

As Dawn shifted attention back to Justice, the boy frowning at her question but not at her as he tilted his head down to look at the cobblestone road in thought, "Even I can't be sure. We're all a part of the whole, but we're fighting against each other. Am I and the others just working towards Louis'... the core of Louis' master plan? All I can say is, if it comes down to choosing between killing Louis and saving yourselves, I would rather you not hesitate. If at some point I do turn out to be just an oblivious tool, kill me. The me right now, would rather you do that."

[Kyla: Axel: Train> Bridge]
(sorry for delay, sick all week>.>; rough ))

Cue: Hitori Bocchi wa

Kyla felt better once she rested her gaze on Cloud and Zell in the engine room.

She listened quietly as the shards and her comrades spoke- the personification of lies, Justice, Innocence- It seems like Louis was perhaps already gone all along, pieces of what remained of him floating around-
She remembered that vision back in the dream- those fragments, shards of his heart floating about in the ether, it was o simple now that she thought about it. His heart already shattered-

And Noelle was missing. She didn’t see her or pass her on her way back and forth, surely the blonde healer would have come up to the front to check on everyone else by now. It just made sense, so then fi that was the case where was she? How did she get transported?

When she found Cloud and Zell the girl visibly sighed in relief but said nothing and turned back as the train went down to land.

Right now she didn’t trust herself to even talk right, and pulled on the hem of her tunic top as her skin felt oddly sticky. When it was time to get out, it was a welcome relief. Following behind the others Kyla hesitated, possessing a crazy thought to go back inside, run to the stable car and unhinge the doors just in case…

Her eyes were downcast- was she ready to do this again? The answer didn’t come to her like she hoped, and like a nervous reaction she made to numb it down, smooth over the anxiety before it could make her fingers shake. It must’ve done something to that effect regardless for she hadn’t noticed Innocence come up beside her and give her a hug. It wasn’t a long hug, but it was a full embrace which Kyla still wasn’t used to, and it was enough to make the artist make up and really ‘look’ at Innocence when he gave her a smile and a word of encouragement.

Her control strained again, and she watched after him as he bounded after his host.

Seeing what kindness lay within the remains of the shattered earthling was most painful thing about it all. Seeing what was lost, what she probably couldn’t save.

It was torture. All of it.

It’ll be okay. She lied other self.

She did again.

Said it again.

And again.

And again, until she felt something stick, something to make her shake it off and jump out of the car and follow the others. she listened as Dawn spoke to Justice when they met the bridge. His words like a hammer slamming into her brain over and over.

Kill me. The me right now, would rather you do that.


It will be okay- she lied.

I crossed the line.

It’ll be okay. She lied.

I shot to kill.

It’ll be okay, she lied.

I’ll have to shoot to kill again.

It’ll be ok, she lied.

I’ll have to fight her again, and cross the line ..most likely.

I’ll be okay, she lied and she kept doing it again and again hoping more would stick as she looke dup at the massive castle covered in blackened icor, finding it oddly...befitting how she felt now.
Sick.
Her hand clutched the fabric over her heart which felt like it was pounding way too hard.


Axel who has jumped out after most of them departed, checked himself one last time and leaped into the fridgid air. Eyes fixated on the castle- Man was that thing ugly! If what everyone was talking about was the truth, this didn't bode well for what was to come next.
Real shame, putting the lad out of his misery- but there were worse things that could STILL happen to a person in this universe he figured.
She chanced a glace at four-eyes, she still had that weird look on her face. He'd seen it enough times, distant, vacant- not the right one to see when going into battle. even Clouds had some 'seriousness' to it, not detachment like they were checking out.
Just what the heck did they all see in there? Sure he thought it was serious given all the hugging going around, but jeez..

In good news it seemed 'green-thumb' was still ticking as far as Nick was concerned.
"well thats good news...kinda." he said scratching one side of his cheek in thought. "..just how did lil missy green get teleported out of the train?" he mused more to thimself then anything.

{Bobbi, Demyx, Zell, Nanaki, Yuffie .:. Louis’s Heart .:. Bridge}

Despite hanging back from the rest of the group a little, Bobbi was still paying attention to everything that went on. Sure, she couldn’t hear some of it, but she was watching. Most of her attention was focused on Justice and Innocence, and Justice and Dawn were near enough to hear. Justice’s last few words, where he admitted he’d rather be killed than used as a pawn, eased a tightness in Bobbi’s chest she hadn’t been fully conscious of.

~:Sometimes,:~ Shiva said softly, ~:saving someone doesn’t always mean what we want it to. Sometimes…:~

Sometimes you have to kill someone to save them, the Archer finished, with absolutely no rancor. I know. I don’t like it, but I know. I’m just… trying to reconcile these two with Liar and the Louis I remember from the other day. And… That other one...

~:The "Louis" we fought in your heart? I understand. But you, of all people, should know how many different facets there are to the human heart, and the balances between light and darkness. For many of the same reasons that Kyla knows. You’re both artists.:~

The interplay of light and shadow, making two disparate parts into a whole… The whole "you can’t have light without darkness, et cetera" thing, right?

~:Exactly. You know that.:~

And I know I know that, and you know I know I know that, and so on and so forth. Just… Shiva, what if I make the wrong decision? What if… I do save him, and it turns out to be a mistake? I’d have kept my promise, but…

~:Then you fix it.:~

Bobbi sighed, and stepped away from the train, heading over to Justice. She didn’t say a word, just clapped a hand to his shoulder briefly as she walked by, heading towards the group around Kyle and Nick. She came in on the tail end of Nick saying that Noelle was alive, but he couldn’t reach her. Another sigh of relief, this one audible. She hadn’t known Noelle was missing, but it was nice to know she was alive, at least. When John and Anthony announced they were staying behind, Bobbi nodded. She understood completely. In fact, she wanted desperately to stay on the train as well, but she felt responsible for cleaning up the Louis mess, on top of her promise, and she couldn’t stay behind without hating herself. She envied them a little, though.

Yuffie was fascinated by the icky castle, and not in a good way. Just watching it make her sick to her stomach, and she heaved a little, again.

"Look, all this standing around and junk is awesome and everything," she said in a strained voice, "but can we get going, please? I think I’m gonna be sick…"

"Yuck," Demyx groaned, stepping further away from the ninja. "If you really have to throw up, can you do it over there? On all the Heartless? Please?"

{James, Auron, Leon : Louis' Heart : Bridge}

Their group hug was short but sweet. Too short for the corsair but it couldn’t be helped. He knew it couldn’t last long. A few minutes passed and the train came to land near the bridge. Their chance to pull themselves back together was over, time to go back into the belly of the beast. James made sure to grab an ether to restock on the one he had drank and pocketed it as he made his way out into the tainted land, scanning their surroundings. The land was clearly corrupted by darkness all around. His spine prickling as he sensed it immediately as he stepped out of the train, his lip curled briefly in disgust. He remained silent as he listened to the conversations going on. Noelle was somehow outside of all of this, and from what Nich said she wasn’t dead at least. There was a bit of relief in that fact.

The shards of Louis that were present revealed that they didn’t know anything about what lied before them within the castle which meant there was no real way to prepare. As such, all they could do was go for it. He hoped there weren’t going to be anymore illusions though that much was certain. The emotional effect of what was seen and felt from the events of the ball scene still weight heavily on the corsair’s mind.

’Let’s just get this over with…,’ He tiredly thought to himself. He wasn’t sure how much more his frayed nerves could take.

Auron made his way out of the train and onto the start of the bridge with the others, his katana resting on his shoulder. He remained silent as he listened to the conversations at hand. He noted that a few of the Earthlings had apparently chosen to sit out on the second run. This admittedly surprised the unsent samurai somewhat. Typically it seemed like all of the young adults had been so keen to go headlong into any situation. He didn’t fully understand what had transpired within the illusion but to dissuade that normal behavior it must have been bad for them. He could tell just by observing the ones before them that some of them at least were emotionally unstable.

Leon made his way out of the stable car and walked over to the group. During the time they had been waiting for the Earthlings the gunblader had taken the opportunity to do some practicing in the training car. He was relieved to see that they had returned relatively safe. However, he also noted that some of them seemed too disheartened to continue. He couldn’t blame them for it, they had never been soldiers and battle definitely took it’s toll. They were seven days in now and the effects were definitely starting to show. With some of their stronger melee staying behind they would need some help.

”I agree, we should get going,” He replied, agreeing with Yuffie as he turned his focus to the bridge leading to the corrupted castle.

[ Kyle : Louis' Heart : Bridge to Corruption ]

When Yuffie prodded everyone to get going, Kyle's eye twitched. When Amy echoed the sentiment, he ground his teeth somewhat. When Leon became repeater number two, his demeanor shifted entirely, and he took a breath, a sarcastic rant at the edge of his tongue, his irises flaring a bright violet unbeknownst to him--

--only to have the newer Joe speak up again, motioning toward the castle and the rest of the heartscape. Kyle didn't have an answer, but he wasn't sure anyone would--none save, perhaps, Sora or Riku, the only two with any significant experience regarding hearts and their magical capabilities.

"I don't believe any heart can bear a burden like this without additional input," the sorceress spoke up. She had briefly eyed Kyle before hand, noticing the uncontrolled spark in his eyes, but she made no mention of it. "The Asura researchers in the Priory theorized the storm was growing outward from a leyline, or a focal point of some particularly dark magic, but we had no experience or intel on this world, so they could not say. I imagine the only way to find out would be to find the source of the spell."

"I think we're all here and ready," Sora said, looking around and counting heads. Every Earthling was here that planned to go, and the rest of the party as well.

At Sora's comment, Kyle turned around and realized that yes, in fact, everyone was present and ready. Like the wind suddenly dying and sails suddenly drooping, his eyes sputtered back to their normal oak brown and he quickly exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

He took a deep breath in response, and another, calming himself. They were all right, of course--and he wanted to get going more than most. But being prodded when the others might still have been reeling felt wrong. Shaking his head of the issue, he turned toward the older Joe and raised a brow, waiting for the final call.

Justice, of course, would have felt the initial surge of frustration and magic, and also would have felt it die away just as quickly. He might not have realized, though, that the energy build-up was unintentional.

[[Narration : RE:ality]]

Everyone planning on departing had gathered, even some of those who had no intention of entering the castle stood around the doors to the trains to see them off. With Joe's announcement, they all started off on their journey across the bridge to the castle. Justice nodded to those who stayed behind while Innocence performed a spinning, flamboyant bow before twisting back to the castle and bounding off to walk next to Bobbi.

Kyla, could feel a gentle tug inside her as a voice rose up in her head like a waking yawn, "It'll be okay."

[[Cue(again): Fear Not This Night (Instrumental) by Jeremy Soule from Guild Wars 2]]

The first steps were likely full of apprehension, after all, the last time they'd crossed this bridge they were assaulted by arrows, swarms of heartless from the sky, and a gigantic corrupted ice dragon. However... as they crossed the bridge, surrounded by a bizarre scenery of floating crystal fragments that would remind those familiar with them of a kaleidoscope, nothing happened. Kyla, would recognize this scenery from once before. Though while looking out into the sea of crystal shards, one might catch a glimpse of what would have seemed like a landscape or figure from the corner of their vision, but it was just as fleeting as the speck in one's eye dancing away from sight when one tried to focus on it.

The bridge itself provided little worries, beyond its aged appearance with regular wear and tear through small cracks and pebble-sized craters in the stone. What lied below it, though unnerving, the sea of heartless also did little to threaten them. Like before, their focuses seemed elsewhere, completely ignoring the group as they passed over the bridge. Every once in awhile, a darkside would rise from the sea before sinking back down. Perhaps adding to the suspense was the eerie silence. Heartless, rarely made sound, so the sea was quiet, the only noise, the sound of crystal floating about occasionally colliding with another ringing out like wind chimes.

It wasn't a long walk, but it wasn't necessarily a short one, with nerves high as they were, it likely felt longer than it was. They reached the gate to the courtyard, the non-earthlings walking through unhindered, a likely sigh of relief for any of the earthlings not being forced to relive the terror of that moment again... though perhaps the fear still lingered that history would repeat itself.

The courtyard was empty, devoid of statues that had almost choked the entryway and made it near impossible for them to move forward before. Several scars lay about the semi-circle garden entrance, gashes in the walls, gouges in the earth, torn up grass. This damage looked and felt magical, like a fight had took place here... off to the side resting against a tree were an odd pair of objects, a scythe and naginata crossed over the other as though someone had just placed them there to return to later. Anyone looking away from these things could feel the same sensation from out on the bridge, as though they'd seen two people sitting, talking, and laughing in the grass before looking and the pair vanish without a trace.

The door beyond the courtyard hung slightly ajar, the hinges slightly rusted, the wood mildly moldy and untreated . A dusty stench hung in the air from the wind escaping from inside like an abandoned home that had not had visitors in a very long time. There was no welcoming feeling here, no tug at their hearts to enter, merely emptiness, a lonely door that had no purpose anymore.

Once opened, it came with some effort and a lot of noise. Creaking and angry hinges being prodded from their long rest were crying out in defiance. Alas, they did open and to an entry parlor they would all recognize from their previous visit, only this time, dusty, unkempt, and rotting. Spiderwebs hung drearily at various angles in the corners and between furniture with no sign of the actual artisans themselves.

Was it relaxing, surprising, or perhaps depressing to see the previously extravagant interior of the castle so deteriorated and lost to time?

At last, the double-doors to the main hall. It, like all the rest was poorly maintained and did little to offer up the generous sense of luxury its illusionary counterpart provided. It, unlike the door behind them was closed entirely, its previously polished golden handles were little more than cast iron bolted to the door, the gold trimming, non-existent and replaced with a layer of dust. This was the reality of Jadis' abandoned castle, not gilded in gold and lined with silver but cold, unwelcoming and devoid of life and joy.

With a push that would likely have required two people, it swung open revealing a vision of purple, silver, and prosperity.

Yes, like before in their illusionary nightmare, the hall was decorated and shining. Only, there were no guests. No sounds of joy and cheerful music. There were no standing statues of famous members of Narnian history, no mouth watering banquets. Instead, of archways and pillars, the walls retreated into alcoves like the seating of a coliseum. Furthermore, the source of the distortion was obvious, as the illusion faded the closer it got to where they stood, their presence giving off an aura that ate away at the clean, fantastical atmosphere and returned it to a bleak, dark reality. It was obvious to all that this illusion had no effect on them.

Regardless, the hall was empty, with the exception of a group standing by the throne. On it, sat Louis- no, Liar. His body covered in wounds from head to toe, one eye covered by a bandage, bruises around his neck as though he'd been strangled in a line as straight and clean as a knife, blood stains bled right through his clothes around his chest as well as patches and bruises everywhere else.

Around him stood several others, people they would recognize from the party. Knights of the king, Amanda, Fredric, Benjamin, & Fiona as well as two others they had only seen rarely in passing totaling 6 in all.

At the moment their eyes met, each of the knights looked away, frowning and showing an expression of despair and perhaps guilt.

To the side sat a piano and at it sat the lady in blue. She would only look at the group once, and oddly enough, she nodded in their direction as though in a reserved bow before she returned to her performance, the piano's notes drifting softly as they entered accompanied by unseen, phantom orchestra.

Liar took a deep, labored breath before he forced a pained chuckle, "Welcome back."

[ Kyle & Co. : Louis' Heart : Fwd:Re:Re:Ality ]

Kyle's thoughts as they traversed the bridge were, as always, going a mile a minute; he couldn't even keep track of the thoughts that passed through his head, their initial streams rushing by him and echoing once, twice before he finally, consciously 'thought' them with his personal mental voice. But now, at the very least, they were fairly unified in a single topic: progress.

And their paltry, barely-measurable progress frustrated him.

Into the courtyard the strolled, not for the first time, not for the second time, but for the third time. True, he had glanced back momentarily to make sure everyone got through the archway, but otherwise he continued to semi-lead the pack, his gait nearly identical to Joe's. Then, for not the first time nor the second time but the third time they approached the double doors, and then not for the first nor the second but the third time did they pass through them into the castle proper—

Something in his chest coiled. He felt a flicker of anger not his own, even as he helped Joe push open the second set of double doors ('NOT FOR THE FIRST NOR—') and made his first steps into the grand hall of a throne room, pausing—but only for the barest of a second, only to hear Joe's initial groan.

Then, as the leader began his ramble, Kyle continued forward. His face was ice while his eyes were fire, his expression was absence manifest while his stare carried the weight of his presence to the throne and beyond. He did not look around him as the illusion melted away with every step he took, but he did notice, and as soon as he did, his pace seemed to increase just slightly.

"As you can see, we're all a bit tired," he said, and there was no coyness to his tone, nor was there anger. There was only the direct tenor of his voice accompanied by the constant thudding of his boots on a floor that wasn't there. "To make matters worse, you are more than likely just another speedbump before we reach the end of this road. Calling tensions high is underselling it."

Ultima did not speak, but her idea was felt all the same. He considered it, but pushed it aside for now. He wasn't going to assume this broken fraction of a soul had the dignity to fade without one last desperate attempt; he'd need an out.

"So if it's all the same to you, fast-forward. We've already had one unbearable swan song today, and this whole scenario was just supposed to be a side-quest before bed," he continued. His chest tingled; the hairs on his arms raised, mirroring the hairs on his neck. His eyes were still brown. "So go ahead. Beat the dead horse on your whole 'memento mori' schtick, memento your mori, and let's be done. Can we do that?"

Jenny, Sayrike, Matthew and Riku stayed behind, the latter approaching Joe to place a hand on the older man's shoulder, hoping to calm him down while Matthew looked concerned. Sora and Melisandre, however, followed after Kyle, the former with Keyblade in hand.